NTSB Releases New Update On Japan Airlines 787 Fire In Boston

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WUSA) - The National Transportation Safety Board on Monday released a second update on its investigation into the Jan. 7 fire aboard a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 at Logan International Airport in Boston.

The lithium-ion battery that powered the auxiliary power unit on the airplane was removed and transported back to the NTSB Materials Laboratory on Jan. 10 where it is being examined by NTSB investigators, who plan to disassemble it this week.

Radiographic examinations of the incident battery and an exemplar battery have been conducted at an independent test facility, and digital radiographs and computed tomography scans generated from the examination enabled the team to document the internal condition of the battery before taking it apart.

Investigators also took possession of burned wire bundles, the APU battery charger, and several memory modules. The maintenance and APU controller memory modules will be downloaded to obtain any available data. Investigators also documented the entire aft electronics bay including the APU battery and the nearby affected structure where components and wire bundles were located.

The airplane's two combined flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder units were transported to NTSB headquarters and have been successfully downloaded. The information is currently being analyzed by the investigative team.

The airport emergency response group documented the airport rescue and firefighting efforts to extinguish the fire, which included interviews with first responders. Fire and rescue personnel were able to contain the fire using a clean agent (Halotron), but they reported experiencing difficulty accessing the battery for removal during extinguishing efforts. All fire and rescue personnel responding to the incident had previously received aircraft familiarization training on the Boeing 787.